Final electricity consumption by sector

Assessment versions

Published (reviewed and quality assured)

• No published assessments

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

The indicator monitors progress in reducing electricity consumption. Due to important energy losses incurred in both the production (particularly from conventional thermal and nuclear power plants) and transport of electricity, the rise in electricity consumption is of particular concern for the environment. However, an increase of electricity consumption in the transport sector might signal a positive trend of modal shift towards rail transport or higher penetration of electric vehicles. In general, the associated environmental impacts will depend on the amount of electricity consumed as well as the fuel mix, the technology employed (its efficiency) and the use of abatement technologies.

Scientific references

• ENERDATA (2003). ISI-FhG,Energy efficiency in the European Union 1990-2001. SAVE-ODYSSEE Project on Energy Efficiency Indicators
• COD/2008/0013 - Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system of the Community
• COD/2008/0014 - Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020
• COM(2008) 16 final - Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gasemission allowance trading system of the Community
• COM(2008) 778 final/2 - Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by energy-related products
• COM(2008) 781 final - Second Strategic Energy Review
• EU (2009) Climate action and renewable energy package (CARE Package)
• Newly created RationaleReference

Indicator definition

Final electricity consumption covers electricity supplied to the final consumer's door for all energy uses, it does not include own use by electricity producers or transmission and distribution losses. It is calculated as the sum of final electricity consumption from all sectors. These are disaggregated to cover industry, transport, households, services (including agriculture and other sectors).

Units

Final electricity consumption is measured in terawatt hours (TWh).

Policy context and targets

Context description

Environmental context

Reducing electricity consumption is a robust way to lower the environmental impacts of electricity generation. This may result from reducing the electricity consumption for lighting, appliances and information and communication technology equipment, or by using electricity in a more efficient way, or from a combination of the two. In the transport sector, however, an increase in electricity consumption might signal a positive trend of modal shift towards rail transport or a higher penetration of electric vehicles.

Nevertheless, the type and extent of energy-related pressures on the environment depends not only on the amount of electricity consumed (and thus generated and/or avoided), but also on the fuels used for electricity generation, which are predominantly still fossil fuels (see ENER 27 for more information about electricity production by fuel and its impacts) and how the electricity is produced (see ENER 19 on efficiency of conventional thermal electricity generation, ENER 20 on penetration of combined heat and power and ENER 06 on the extent to which pollution abatement technologies are used) .

The switch from other end-use fuels towards electricity increases the environmental pressure in many cases, as around three units of energy are needed to produce one unit of electricity, due to efficiency losses in electricity generation and transmission. However, if the electricity is generated by low emission technologies like renewables, such a switch could also significantly reduce the environmental consequences of electricity production while, at the same time, improving the security of energy supply.

Policy context

Council adopted on 6 April 2009 the climate-energy legislative package containing measures to fight climate change and promote renewable energy. This package is designed to achieve the EU's overall environmental target of a 20 % reduction in greenhouse gases and a 20 % share of renewable energy in the EU's total energy consumption by 2020.The climate action and renewable energy (CARE) package includes the following main policy documents

• Directive 2009/29/ec of the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/ec so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the community
• Directive 2009/31/ec of the European parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide
• Directive 2009/28/ec of the European parliament and of the Council on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources
• Community guidelines on state aid for environmental protection (2008/c 82/01)
• Directive 2008/101/ec of the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/ec so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas Emission allowance trading within the community
• Regulation (ec) no 443/2009 of the European parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the community’s integrated approach to reduce CO₂ emissions from light-duty vehicles

Second Strategic Energy Review; COM(2008) 781 final.Strategic review on short, medium and long term targets on EU energy security.

Eco-Design Directive; COM(2008) 778 final/2.Directive on intensification of existing regulation on energy-efficiency of products.

Targets

No targets have been specified

Related policy documents

• 2008/c 82/01
  Community guidelines on state aid for environmental protection (2008/c 82/01)
• 2009/31/EC
  Directive 2009/31/ec of the European parliament and of the Council on the geological storage of carbon dioxide.
• ADEME (2003), ENERDATA, ISI-FhG,Energy efficiency in the European Union 1990-2001. SAVE-ODYSSEE Project on Energy Efficiency Indicators
  Energy efficiency in the European Union 1990-2001.
• Climate action and renewable energy package (CARE Package)
  Combating climate change is a top priority for the EU. Europe is working hard to cut its greenhouse gas emissions substantially while encouraging other nations and regions to do likewise.
• COM(2008) 16 final
  Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gasemission allowance trading system of the Community
• COM(2008) 16 final - COD 2008/0013
  Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system of the Community.
• COM(2008) 17 final - COD 2008/0014
  Proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the effort of Member States to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Community’s greenhouse gas emission reduction commitments up to 2020.
• COM(2008) 778
  Eco-Design Directive; COM(2008) 778
• COM(2008) 781
  COM(2008) 781 final - Second Strategic Energy Review
• DIRECTIVE 2008/101/EC
  DIRECTIVE 2008/101/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 November 2008 amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to include aviation activities in the scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community
• DIRECTIVE 2009/28/EC
  DIRECTIVE 2009/28/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 April 2009 on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources and amending and subsequently repealing Directives 2001/77/EC and 2003/30/EC
• Directive 2009/29/EC
  Directive 2009/29/EC of the European parliament and of the Council amending directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emission allowance trading scheme of the community.
• EEA greenhouse gas - data viewer
  The EEA GHG viewer provides easy access and analysis of the data contained in the Annual European Union greenhouse gas inventory and inventory report. The EEA GHG data viewer can show emission trends for the main sectors and allows for comparisons of emissions between different countries and activities.
• REGULATION (EC) No 443/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 443/2009
  Regulation (ec) no 443/2009 of the European parliament and of the Council setting emission performance standards for new passenger cars as part of the community's integrated approach to reduce CO2 emissions from light-duty vehicles.
• SEC(2007) 53
  Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2003/87/EC so as to improve and extend the EU greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system - Summary of the Impact Assessment.

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Average annual rate of growth calculated using: [(last year/base year) ^ (1/number of years) –1]*100
Electricity consumption per capita calculated by dividing final electricity consumption by population for each country (demo_pjan).
The coding (used in the Eurostat New Cronos database) and specific components of the indicator (in relation to the product ‘6000 - electrical energy’) are:
Numerator: final electricity consumption industry 101800 + final electricity consumption transport 101900 + final electricity consumption households 102010 + final electricity consumption services/agriculture calculated as (final electricity consumption households/services 102000 - final electricity consumption households 102010).
Only if needed for shares; Denominator: (total) final electricity consumption 101700.
For non-EEA members data from the IEA is used:
Report ‘Electricity Information’, table ‘World, Electricity/Heat Supply and Consumption’, product ‘Electricity (GWh)’, balance (‘Observed Consumption – Total Energy Sector’). Report ‘World Energy Balances’, table ‘World Indicators’, flow ‘Population (millions)’.

Methodology for gap filling

No methodology for gap filling has been specified. Probably this info has been added together with indicator calculation.

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

Data specifications

EEA data references

• No datasets have been specified here.

External data references

• Energy statistics (Eurostat)
• Electricity Consumption (dataset URL is not available)

Data sources in latest figures

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

Any cross-country comparison of the distribution of electricity consumption between sectors will have to be accompanied by a relevant measure of the importance of the sector in the economy, as the sectoral shares also depends on the country's economic circumstances. Because the focus is on the reduction of electricity consumption and not on the sectoral redistribution of such consumption, the trends in the absolute values (in TWh) should be preferred as a more meaningful indicator of progress. However, even if the same sectors in two countries are equally important to the economy, the gross (primary) consumption of energy needed to generate the electricity before it reaches the final user might draw from energy sources that pollute the environment in different ways. Thus, from an environmental point of view, the final electricity consumption of a sector should be analysed in that broader context.
The sectoral breakdown of electricity consumption includes industry, transport, households, services, agriculture, fisheries and other sectors.

Geographical coverage:
The Agency had 32 member countries at the time of writing of this fact sheet. These are the 27 European Union Member States and Turkey, plus Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
No energy data available for Liechtenstein or Iceland.
Data for World, United States, China, India, Russia, the Middle East and Africa.

Methodology and frequency of data collection:
Data collected annually.
Eurostat metadata for energy statistics http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/metadata

Data sets uncertainty

Officially reported data, updated annually. No obvious weaknesses.
Data have been traditionally compiled by Eurostat through the annual Joint Questionnaires, shared by Eurostat and the International Energy Agency, following a well established and harmonised methodology. Methodological information on the annual Joint Questionnaires and data compilation can be found in Eurostat's web page for metadata on energy statistics. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/statistics/metadata See also information related to the Energy Statistics Regulation http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/energy/introduction

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified